Player of the Year Asia 2010: AFC announces first list

AFC has announced the first list of candidates for the coveted 2010 AFC Player of the Year award. The award will be presented at the AFC Annual Awards gala, which will be held at the Sunway Resort Hotel and Spa here in the Malaysian capital on November 24, 2010.

The list of 15 players includes Japan star Keisuke Honda, Korea Republic captain Park Ji-sung and Australian Tim Cahill. Honda and Park played key roles in their team’s progress to the second round of the 2010 FIFA World Cup while Cahill impressed in his side’s campaign in South Africa. Iran and Esteghlal striker Farhad Majidi, 2010 AFC Champions League finalists Zob Ahan defender Farshid Talebi, Al Qadsia and Kuwait ace Bader Al Mutawa, who missed out on the honour in 2006 by finishing second to Qatar’s Khalfan Ibrahim, and Al Karamah’s Jordanian import Hasan Abdel Fattah, who has now joined Jordan side Al Wehdat, have also made it to the list. Australian Sasa Ognenovski, who has captained Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma to the final of the AFC Champions League this year, Sepahan’s Mohsen Bengar, Pohang Steelers’ Kim Hyun-gil, Korea Republic’s Lee Dong-gook, Saudi Arabia and Al Hilal defender Osama Hawsawi and China’s Li Weifeng, who struts his stuff for Korean outfit Suwon Bluewings, Qatar and Al Rayyan hitman Fabio Cesar, and Bahrain and Al Riffa midfielder Husain Salman complete the initial list.

The candidates have been chosen based on MVP points awarded by Match Commissioners and the AFC’s Technical Study Group officers. This initial list will be updated again in the coming weeks. One of the key criteria for winning the award is the confirmation of the nominees’ attendance for the awards night.

-List of candidates for 2010 AFC Player of the Year nominees (in alphabetical order; as of November 2, 2010)

Bader Al Mutawa (Kuwait/Al Qadsia, Kuwait)

Fabio Cesar (Qatar/Al Rayyan, Qatar)

Farhad Majidi (Iran/Esteghlal, Iran)

Farshid Talebi (Iran/Zob Ahan, Iran)

Hasan Abdel Fattah (Jordan/Al Karamah, Syria)

Husain Salman (Bahrain/Al Riffa, Bahrain)

Keisuke Honda (Japan/CSKA Moscow, Russia)

Kim Hyun-gil (Korea Republic/Pohang Steelers, Korea Republic)

Lee Dong-gook (Korea Republic/Jeonbuk Motors, Korea Republic)

Li Weifeng (China/Suwon Bluewings, Korea Republic)

Mohsen Bengar (Iran/Sepahan, Iran)

Osama Hawsawi (Saudi Arabia/Al Hilal, Saudi Arabia)

Park Ji-sung (Korea Republic/Manchester United, England)

Sasa Ognenovski (Australia/Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma, Korea Republic)

Tim Cahill (Australia/Everton, England)